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Heavenly inspiration: McKinney Christian Academy senior releases CD
Photo courtesy of Dennis Windsor - McKinney Christian Academy senior Jessica Windsor, 17, sings at the release party for her CD, "Finally," earlier this month at Gather in downtown McKinney.
By Chris Beattie, cbeattie@starlocalnews.com
Jessica Windsor's music has one message: it's not about her.
At 17, fresh off releasing her first professional CD, the singer-songwriter could be arrogant, a promising career already in the making. Her voice and lyrics are well beyond her years.
But her humility - a notion telling of her musical and personal maturity - is just as rare.
Still somewhat undiscovered, Windsor's lyrics are on full blast at last. She released "Finally," a Christian-love song album, Dec. 2 at Gather in downtown McKinney.
Her sound points to a life in Christian music. Her words resemble a love that's different than that of popular artists like Taylor Swift or Adele.
"God gave me a gift for music and songwriting," she said. "He's just really given me a passion for music I didn't have before, and it's really cool to see how I've grown these last few years.
"My music isn't about me - it's the gift that He's given me."
Windsor realized that gift about four years ago when she attended music camp at a local church, right around the time she started matching lyrics to her passion.
Growing up, she directed and starred in homemade musicals, her younger brother, Jack, and younger sister, Hope, often backing out of a Jessica-run performance.
"It would get to the point where I would give everyone specific costumes and have set changes, eventually everyone would quit on me so it'd just be me because I was so over the top," she recalled. "I've always loved music and writing, but it wasn't until I was 13 that I started actually writing songs."
One every day, she says, for parents who, at the time, were unaware of her talent. And, before she connected with Will and Crystal Yates, local musicians who've guided that talent for a few years.
Will, who teaches Windsor guitar and piano, provided the instrumentals for "Finally." Crystal, his wife and a more established singer who's become a household name around the area, works with Windsor on her singing.
"Before, I would just sit down and write a song and not think about it, but now, as I've been taught, I've learned the mechanics behind songwriting," Windsor said. "I've had to train my voice and do the hard work behind it that I didn't really know existed."
Her inspiration, though, comes from above and within. "Brokenhearted," her favorite song on the album, speaks to her mother's holiday charity "Scotty's Gifts" that helps provide under-privileged families with Christmas gifts. Her late brother, for whom the charity was founded, died in a car accident in front of the Windsor home when she was six months old.
Most songs, like "He Came" and "Relentless," tell of Windsor's spiritual muse, while others tell the story of a romantic teen - one who's admittedly "obsessed with weddings."
"Everything I've written has been inspired by either something I've dealt with in life or something I've learned more about my relationship with God as I've matured," she said. "I've really matured a lot over my high school career."
Her musical career has really just begun. She's long been involved with school choir and drama departments, and sings in MCA's ensemble. But recently she got a breath of the stakes behind the stage.
Windsor took part in Immerse, a singer-songwriter competition in Nashville, where she made it through the first round and performed for "big-industry people," she said. "That really opened my eyes to how competitive even the Christian industry is; it's a business, but it's still about being the best at what you do," she said.
There, she also minimized the pressure, she says, realizing she wants to do her music, not anyone else's. In a few months, she plans to go to college, still unsure if she wants to pursue a music degree.
She sees music in her future, but not necessarily the Grammys. Few of her high school peers know of her budding career, she says, just the close friends, family and teachers at her recent release party. Hoping to hold another release party that more friends and likely new fans can attend, Windsor hopes to perform more often for a live audience.
Yet, her eyes and voice are set on music ministry. She wants to use her gift, no matter the magnitude, for the one she says gave it.
"Right before I get on stage I'm really nervous, but when I get on stage, I'm not nervous anymore because I know it's not about me," she said. "So I don't have to be nervous about messing it up because I know I didn't do it in the first place."
To hear Jessica's music, visit www.jessicawindsormusic.com, or download it on iTunes.
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